


What About Us?

by PinkBlossom



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Hospitalization, M/M, School Shootings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27580754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkBlossom/pseuds/PinkBlossom
Summary: Tony always thought it would be him that this happened to.Him being a Federal Agent, dealing with people who pointed guns at him on a regular basis.Not you.You were a Kindergarten teacher.The nearest you got to guns was watching kids using their hands to mimic them as they played cops and robbers or something like that.
Relationships: Anthony DiNozzo/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	What About Us?

Tony always thought it would be him that this happened to.

Him being a Federal Agent, dealing with people who pointed guns at him on a regular basis.

Not you.

You were a Kindergarten teacher.

The nearest you got to guns was watching kids using their hands to mimic them as they played cops and robbers or something like that.

It is Gibbs who tells him about the shooting after seeing a news flash. He drives them both to the scene where they find Fornell, who goes to find out where you are. As soon as he returns, they know it is bad news .

‘They’ve been taken to Washington General. I don’t have any more information.’

They run back to the car. Tony feels a knot in his stomach. He worries that he’s not told you enough how much he loved you, that he may not hear your voice again. That your last moments on this earth might have been filled with gunshots and dying children. It is terrifying.

His biggest worry was that you will have needed him, and he would not have been there.

At the hospital, Tony and Gibbs fight their way through the scores of people in the ED. Finally they find a nurse who tells them you are in surgery and directs them to where to wait.

Never before had minutes felt like hours. Tony was grateful his boss had stayed with him. Both men are silent, but the company is appreciated. Gibbs has never known Tony so quiet. Even Bubonic Plague didn’t shut him up.

The day stretched out. Fornell comes and finds them. He wants to know how you are. Both men shrugged. Still in surgery was the only update they had.

He tells the Agents how you’d saved the lives of your entire class. You’d made them all squeeze in the cupboard the moment you’d heard shots, somehow managing to keep them calm at the same time. You’d been caught making your way to your own hiding place by the indiscriminate shooter.

Tony hears what Fornell is saying, but doesn’t really take it in. All he can focus on is the door through to theatres. Eventually, someone comes out that door and heads over to them. They use words like blood loss, critically ill and intensive care but all he concentrates on was that you are alive.

Eventually, Tony is allowed to see you and sit with you. Gibbs pops his head around the door but leaves Tony to be with you, making sure he knows just to call him, and he’ll be right back.

He spends the night at your side. Alternating between being sat holding your hand and dozing in the chair. McGee visits in the morning, bringing his colleague some coffee, food and a change of clothes. Your condition is unchanged, and you remain unconscious. Doctors tell Tony they would expect you to wake up in the next 24 hours. In fact, you wake up 7 hours later.

You are aware of Tony’s presence, everything else is confusing and you just don’t understand what’s going on. But you can heat Tony’s voice and feel him squeezing your hand. After the tube is removed from your throat, you fall back asleep. Waking again, Tony is still at your side and this time when you open your eyes, you can focus.

‘Hey Sweetcheeks,’ It was such a Tony thing to say.

‘Tony the kids…’ you stutter with alarm, a sudden flashback floods your senses

‘Your class are all alive and unharmed. You saved them,’

The relief you feel is short lived as you remember more about the panic you’d felt. Tony’s hand grips yours a little firmer and you can hear the beep of the heart monitor increasing constantly

‘You’re ok, you’re safe as are all your students. It’s over,’ Tony strokes your hair with his other hand, his voice soothes you back to a regular heart rate.

The next morning, Gibbs visits you. He agrees to stay with you while Tony goes home and gets a shower and picks you up some things. Gibbs might not be the greatest conversationalist, but he’s a good listener and right now you need to talk.

‘Everyone keeps telling me I was so brave and that I saved those kids, I’m a hero, but I wasn’t brave.’ You tell him, biting your lip with embarrassment.

He sits in the chair Tony has spent most of the last few days in and fixes you with a look.

‘How do you figure that?’ he replies.

‘Do you know what my first thought was when I heard those shots? It was to get myself somewhere safe. I eventually thought of the kids but they weren’t my first priority. I was terrified. None of that sounds very brave to me.’

‘Really? Because it sounds perfectly natural to me,’

You look at him, He isn’t the type to tell you what he thinks you need to hear so his words surprise you.

‘Everyone is scared in a situation like that. Some people run towards the danger, some people freeze, some run away. Those kids might not have been you very first thought but they were your second and you did what you needed to do even though you were scared. Those parents owe you their children’s lives,’

You think about it for a moment. You understand what he is saying but is still makes you feel uncomfortable.

‘Is it OK to not really like the hero tag though?’ you query.

He lets out a hearty laugh. ‘Yeah, that’s fine. ‘The publicity will die down and you’ll be able to get on with your life. Those parents though, they won’t forget.’

Tony returns with your things. Gibbs gives you a kiss on the forehead and a squeeze of the hand before he leaves

You spent the evening with Tony at your side. You held hands and watched some cheesy movie on the TV. Tony sleeps through the last half an hour. You know he’s been here with you since it all happened. When he wakes up, you order him home for the night.

He does as you tell him and for the first time you arrived at the hospital, you are alone. The nurse brings you your night-time pain relief and within minutes, you are fast asleep.

The sound of Tony singing is the first thing you hear when you wake up. You smile at him as he dances around the room putting your clothes away and unpacking bags of snacks.

‘Some one slept well,’ you tell him.

‘Why yes I did but I also had time to do some thinking,’

‘Oh yeah, what have you been taxing the grey matter with?’

‘Us, as it happens,’

‘What about us? You’ve not been thinking about bed baths again, have you?’

‘Well yes, but not all the time.’

In the two years you have been seeing Tony, you can honestly say there had never been a dull moment. You love that he is so lively and energetic. But you also love that there was a serious side to him that most people never saw. Those serious conversations always started like this one, so you steel yourself for what is to come.

‘I thought we could move in together. You will probably need someone around when you get out of here. We can try it out for that and if you want to, we can find somewhere together once you’re better.’

Little did Tony know, you’d been thinking this same thing only a matter of weeks ago. You know you have lasted longer than any relationship Tony had ever had, and this feels more serious than anything you’d ever had before.

‘I think that would be a good idea,’ you say gently, a smile spreading across your face.

Tony is smiling back at you. He’s been really scared these last few days. When he thought about not seeing you again, it gave him a sense of perspective. You are more important to him than most things in his life. He doesn’t want to waste another second. A wicked grin replaces that happy smile.

‘Maybe we can talk about that bed bath now…’


End file.
